Project-based learning (PBL) was heralded as a success, on Thursday, August 08, 2024.
This, as the dozens of secondary school-bound students who took part in the Ministry of Education’s Summer School programme, were acknowledged as the first group in the island to use this learning approach to strengthen their thinking and problem-solving skills.
It also sought to broaden their knowledge base in preparation for secondary school in September 2024.
St. Mary’s Primary School hosted the proud graduates of the programme, along with their parents, guardians and Ministry officials.
In her official address, Chief Education Officer, Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, revealed that this group was the first to benefit from the project-based learning approach, one of the proposed teaching and learning components under Education Transformation. PBL is a method of teaching which involves students working together to design and construct hands-on solutions to real-life problems.
Dr. Archer-Bradshaw said: “For this year’s PBL implementation, the problem identified was that students struggle with Reading and Mathematics because they are not exposed enough to using concrete materials during instruction and often their learning styles are not considered. The literature on teaching and learning in Mathematics and Reading is replete with research evidence that suggests that manipulatives help to develop students’ conceptual understanding and that ‘gamification’, or the use of games serves to motivate students, reinforce concepts and provide engagement and enjoyment.”
The overall theme for Summer School My Learning, My Future! This is Me!, and the goal was to have students create a Tool Kit, containing manipulatives and games, otherwise called ‘power tools’, which reflect their way of learning. This would assist the student in developing and retaining the Reading and Mathematics concepts taught within the few weeks spent in the programme.
The Chief Education Officer assured the audience that the Ministry would continue “to invest in the academic, social and emotional well-being of these students to ensure that each Barbadian student is assured a bright future, and that no child is left behind”.
The summer programme, which is offered annually by the Ministry of Education provides the opportunity for deferred Class 3 and 4 students from the Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) to be immersed in a Remedial Mathematics and Reading Intervention programme which seeks to:
- Improve their performance, skills, and understanding in Reading and specific areas in Mathematics.
- Develop enhanced study skills, self-confidence, and strategies for appropriate social interaction, through the necessary social support services provided.
- Promote physical well-being, through Physical Education and hone artistic skills, through Music and Dance.
Dr. Archer-Bradshaw made a special appeal to students to apply what they learned over the summer and continue the learning process, while parents were assured that regular consultation would take place as our education system continues to transform to a more student-centred one.
The day’s proceedings concluded with a dynamic performance by students who presented “This Is Me”, from the film “The Greatest Showman”, under the musical direction of Israel J. Allen, who lauded the natural talents of the choir. There was also an exhibition of the collaborative work accomplished by the students.
While PBL is yet to be executed in its fullness, the Ministry is very encouraged by the early positive signs displayed through the Summer School programme.
BGIS / METVT